


there is nothing worth sharing like the love that lets us share our name

by WillozSummers (SammieRie)



Series: a family of endless wonder [1]
Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Basically just wonderful Warehouse fam fic, F/F, Fluff, lil bit of Joshua
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 16:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12729801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammieRie/pseuds/WillozSummers
Summary: Leena sat in the waiting room, reading the parenting book she’d brought as she waited. She was halfway through a section on water births when she heard her name.“Mrs. Donovan?” the nurse called, and Leena smiled. Three years in, and it still warmed her heart. Dog-earring the page on the already worn book, passed down from Mrs. Frederick, she walked over to greet the nurse, thinking of her name and the legacy of passing it on.-musings on family name and Leena's journey to becoming a Donovan





	there is nothing worth sharing like the love that lets us share our name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BabdTheCrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabdTheCrow/gifts).



> for Jules, as a (late) birthday gift
> 
> this was originally titled 'the beautiful start of a lifelong love letter' because I was inspired by Sara Bareille's "I Choose You", so feel free to listen to that and the song the title comes from, Brandi Carlile's cover of "Murder in the City", while reading for maximum feels

A guest tumbled into the B&B, all frizzy-haired and sopping wet, hurrying in from the storm. Claudia glanced up from her electronics spread across the table, halfway turning back to what she was working on before realizing the woman who had entered wasn’t Myka. Whipping her head back to the visitor, she understood why at a glance she thought it was Myka - the same unruly hair, made wilder by the rain, the same strong nose. Setting down her soldering iron, Claudia approached the woman.

“Can I help you?”

“Hi,” the woman smiled, a hint of nerves in her tone. “Tracy Bering. I’m looking for Leena?” As if on cue, the other woman strolled out from the kitchen, laughing at Claudia’s dramatic shocked reaction to Tracy.

“That would be me,” she said with a smile. “Leena Donovan. And it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms Bering.”

“Oh, call me Tracy,” the older woman responded, shaking hands with Leena. They walked to the counter to discuss her stay, but Claudia stayed in place, a small smile replacing her gaping mouth. As shocking as it was to finally meet Myka’s little sister, she couldn’t help but be overcome by warm fuzzy feelings when her wife introduced herself so casually. It had been about a year since the wedding, and Claudia’s heart still beat faster every time she heard it, that little confirmation of _family_.

 - 

Claudia and Leena were taking inventory, sifting through the warehouse shelves. There was a comfortable silence broken occasionally by musings about an artifact they came across, jokes or stories or wonder about its power. They’d been quiet a few minutes when Claudia was struck by a thought.

“Hey Leena?” she began, a question in her voice. Leena poked her head around an artifact, staring through the shelf at her. “I just realized - do you have a last name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you introduced with one.”

Leena chuckled at Claudia’s out of the blue inquiry, wondering where it had come from. “Not really.” At Claudia’s confused quirk of her eyebrows, she continued. “Technically, it’s Johnson. But they gave me up when I was an infant, so I don’t really claim it, you know?” Claudia nodded in vague understanding, looking back at the artifact in front of her as Leena continued. “I came up in the system, just like you, you know.” Claudia nodded more firmly at this - she didn’t know much about Leena’s upbringing yet, but Leena had volunteered some information on her experiences in the foster system to try to connect, in an attempt to bridge the divide between them after MacPherson. “I know I was lucky, I was raised by a lot of good people. They were loving homes, but they were all temporary. None of them were lasting family…” Leena trailed off, staring pensively at the artifact in front of her. Claudia frowned, never having meant to upset the older woman by broaching the topic.

“What about Artie, or Mrs. Frederick?” she asked, tone light, half-joking, half-not.

Leena laughed. “You know Artie - if you point out he’s turning into a dad, he’ll run away from it, at least at first. And he’s not as much a father figure to me as he is to you,” she grinned across at Claudia, who wrinkled her nose in faux annoyance at the fact of that relationship. “And Mrs. Frederick… she embraces being like a mother to me. But she has an actual son out there, and so it’s just… different.”

Claudia frowned again, but Leena shrugged it off. “Don’t look so glum about it, Claud. It’s fine, really.” Leena smiled across at her before turning back to her clipboard, but Claudia saw through it. She and Leena may not have been close yet, but she knew how much the older woman valued family. After all, she was the owner of the B&B - she had built the home they all shared, building them together as family along the way. _If anybody deserved family and belonging and a name to prove it all, it was Leena_.

- 

Claudia wandered the aisles of the warehouse, looking for a quiet spot to not be found. She spotted the perfect corner and folded herself criss-cross on the floor. Leaning her head back, she took a deep breath to steady herself, spinning her new ring on her finger absentmindedly. Pulling out her phone, she pressed the center button on her speed dial and waited for the other side to pick up.

“Claud?” Josh’s voice came through, concerned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she chuckled, “everything’s fine. Sorry for not giving you heads up. I just…” she trailed off, not sure how to phrase what she wanted to ask.

“What’s up?” he asked, voice much lighter, hoping to put her more at ease.

“What were mom and dad like?” she blurted out, surprising even herself. It wasn’t what she’d meant to say, but suddenly it felt like an important question, a relevant one. She waited, giving her brother time to compose an answer.

“They were… they were great parents. Dad was an accountant, and mom stayed home with us. They never really got my love of science - you must have gotten that from me, not from either of them,” he chuckled. “But they were so supportive. They’d take me to the library for books, and I wanted to go all the time. Mom would read through the books to help me set up experiments, even if she didn’t understand all that I was learning from it,” he paused for a moment, thinking of wooden cars and ramps crafted from household objects, his mom counting down like an announcer for the start of a race. “And dad would build things with me,” he continued, excitedly. “Legos, and tinkertoys, those little marble buildings. He’d come home from work and sit with me and build.” Claudia smiled, thinking of how often Joshua had done the same for her - come home from a long day of classes or work or both and sat with her, saving his homework until she’d gone to bed.

“They loved you so much,” he continued, feeling how unfair it was that she couldn’t remember them. “Mom loved reading you bedtime stories, even when you asked for the same one again and again and again. And you had one of those play tool sets that you’d sit at for hours, screwing things on and taking them back off again. Dad would come home and sit you on his lap while he listened to old records. You got your love of music from him, whether you know it or not.” Claudia let out a wet chuckle, not realizing her eyes had gotten teary listening to Joshua’s stories.

“Not that I’m not always down to tell stories about our parents, but you haven’t asked about them in years.” _Haven’t asked about them since before I disappeared_ , he almost said. “What’s brought this up?” He was hesitant to ask it, but he sensed there was something bigger behind Claudia’s phone call.

“I just… needed to know they were good people. That our family name meant something good.” She sighed, realizing how confusing she must sound.

“They were good people, Claud. Wonderful parents, and incredible people. Just like you. I’d say Donovan is a pretty good name to have.” She could hear his grin, picture the almost teasing glint in his eyes as he wondered about her sudden sentimentality.

She laughed, moving on to the real topic at hand. “So Joshua…”

 - 

“Hey babe?” Claudia spoke, getting the other woman’s attention. 

“Yes, darling?” she replied, glancing up from the book she was reading and smiling at Claudia.

And Claudia had spent the past few days thinking of what to say, figuring out the best way to phrase everything; she’d practiced and practiced and then practiced some more, but the way her fiance smiled at her, the sound of her calling her darling, how utterly cozy she looked in Claudia’s sweatshirt (an oversized university hoody she’d had since before Joshua vanished), still found a way to leave her speechless. All her perfectly prepared words went tumbling from her head and she couldn’t even be mad, too busy falling deeper in love at the simplest things.

“Can I talk to you about something?” she asked once her brain kicked back into gear, buying herself time and signalling to Leena that she had a bigger topic at hand.

“Of course,” Leena answered, slipping her bookmark in and setting her book on the table beside their bed. She turned to be facing Claudia, tangling their fingers together, and Claudia closed her eyes at the touch. She took a steadying breath, letting the feel of Leena’s fingers in her own, Leena’s ring cool against her skin, ground her. When she opened her eyes, Leena was smiling softly at her, patient as always.

Claudia fiddled with Leena’s ring, focusing on that as she tried to summon her thoughts back. Leena’s eyes crinkled as she smiled at the action, fond of how Claudia had taken to stimming with both of their rings. “So I know it’s still a year or two before we get married,” she began, and her heart pounded in her chest just at the mention of it - a combination of excitement and nerves, anticipation and fear. “And we’ve got so much to plan - we have to set a date, and figure out venue, and food and what we’re going to wear, and who’s going to be in the wedding, and who to invite, and…” Leena chuckled, squeezing Claudia’s hand to stop her ramble.

“Right,” Claudia laughed, shaking her head. “Anyway, I know we have a lot to plan. And we’ve got time to figure it out. But there’s one thing I really wanted to ask you, so you have time to think about it, and because it’s been on my mind since I asked you before.” Claudia shook her head again, feeling foolish over the phrasing, and Leena just smiled and gave a small nod for her to continue.

Claudia felt almost as nervous as when she’d proposed, but this was something she’d been hoping to ask Leena for even longer, an idea half-formed in the back of her mind since a simple conversation in the warehouse stacks five years ago. “I know you’ve never really felt a connection to your last name, and I know since we’re both women there’s not really rules on this, and screw rules anyway, but… You don’t have to, but I was wondering if you wanted to take my last name?” she rushed out the last sentence, chewing on her lip afterward as she watched for Leena’s reaction.

As the silent moment dragged on, Claudia started rambling without really meaning to. “Like I said, you don’t have to. I just wanted to ask. I know we’ve been family for a long time, and we don’t need all this to prove that. Not that I don’t want it, because I do, I really want this with you, Leena. I like that this makes our family official, that the whole world can know you and I are family. And the last name is just another way of doing that… I know I’m a mess sometimes, but you make me want to be better. And Joshua is amazing, and we’re the only Donovans left. And my parents may not have been around much, but they were good people, and I’m glad I have their last name to remember them by…” Claudia finally stopped, taking in Leena’s watery eyes, a tear spilling over down her cheek.

Panic gripped her, fearing she’d upset her, but Leena just let out a wet laugh. She leaned forward and kissed her, running her hands over her face to calm her down, assure her she was fine. “Baby, I would be honored to be a Donovan,” she said, leaning her forehead against Claudia’s.

“Yeah?” Claudia asked in a whisper, gulping down her nervous hope.

“Yeah,” Leena replied, nodding her head. Claudia pulled her in for another kiss, both of their smiles too big to deepen the kiss. They pulled back with a laugh, Claudia resting her head against Leena’s shoulder, the anxiety draining from her body. She didn’t think she’d be able to stop smiling for a week, finally having gotten that off her chest and gotten the answer she’d hoped for.

- 

The song ended, and Pete stole Claudia away for a dance, promising he’d be back to sweep Leena off her feet later. Laughing as her fiance - _no, her wife_ \- was whisked away, she felt a tap at her shoulder and spun about, smiling when she turned to face Joshua.

“May I have this dance?” he asked, holding out his hand and doing a mock bow. Leena laughed, graciously accepting his hand, and swaying to the music. “You look beautiful,” he said, taking in the ivory dress she was wearing, the floral lace at the top a beautiful contrast to her complexion.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing slightly, “but I can’t hold a candle to your sister.” She gazed across the dancefloor at her wife, being dipped and twirled by Steve, grinning ear to ear. Claudia has chosen to wear a suit, and she looked dashing as ever. In her white button-up, grey vest, and black blazer, she looked as though she’d been taking style cues from Helena.

Joshua shrugged and agreed with her. “You both look lovely.”

They fell silent for a few minutes, swaying to the song as the next one faded in. Leena smiled, soft but bright, knowing Claudia had picked this song and thinking how perfect it was to come on as she danced with Joshua.

“Hey, thanks for letting me be a Donovan. I mean, I know it was Claudia’s choice, but we’re both really glad we had your blessing.”

Joshua grinned, thinking back to Claudia’s phone call asking about their parents, about their name, about advice on asking Leena. “You’ve been family since you took in some strange punk girl who kidnapped your boss and her legally dead brother and gave us a home at the B&B.” She laughed at that, thinking what a strange beginning it all was. “The name just makes it official.” 

“Still. It means a lot to me.” She didn’t have the words to convey the weight she connected with family names, how long she had yearned for one, what a powerful symbol of belonging it felt like to her, but Joshua nodded, understanding well enough.

“Welcome to being a Donovan,” he said, squeezing her hand. “How’s it feel?” They both turned toward Claudia, finding her now dancing with Helena as Pete and Myka danced awkwardly near them, Pete still intent on dramatic dips and spins, to Myka’s begrudgingly fond amusement.

Leena took it all in: her whole family - Pete and Myka, Helena and Claudia, Vanessa having managed to drag Artie onto the dancefloor, Mrs. Frederic smiling at her fondly from a table, Steve dancing with his boyfriend, and Joshua beside her; the strings of lights draped across the dancefloor, the stars above them, the B&B behind her and the orchard stretching out in front of her, on the other side of the dancefloor. Focusing in on the music, she heard Brandi Carlile sing out the end of the song, and she thought how she could live forever in that moment. _But there are more beautiful moments to come_ , she knows, and she doesn’t want to miss any of them.

“It feels like coming home.”

**Author's Note:**

> first foray into WH13, even though I haven't finished watching yet. Cleena is giving me lots of ideas though, so expect more from me, probably. find me @ jessicajcnes on tumblr or @ samwatchesthings for my messy liveblogs of wh13, and to prompt me for me


End file.
